Aden, Jan 26 (IANS): Yemen's internationally recognised government condemned the detention of 13 staff members from the United Nations (UN) and international and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Sanaa, describing the move as an escalation of the country's ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The foreign ministry, in a statement, characterised the detentions as a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law" and warned that they directly endangered the lives and safety of humanitarian workers, Xinhua news agency reported.

The condemnation follows a Friday announcement by the UN, which declared it was suspending all official movements in Houthi-controlled northern Yemen due to the arrests. This suspension follows the detention of seven additional UN staff members by the Houthi group.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a statement, called the continued detention "unacceptable," and affirmed that the UN is actively working to secure the release of the detained individuals.

The Houthis have detained dozens of staff from the UN and other humanitarian organisations, mostly since mid-2023. In June 2024, the Houthis carried out a mass detention of staff from UN, international and local aid organisations in Sanaa, claiming they had detained "key members of an American-Israeli spy network" linked to the US Central Intelligence Agency.

The UN has repeatedly called for the release of those detained, including during a December 2024 visit to Sanaa by World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who sought to negotiate their release.

The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since late 2014, fighting forces loyal to the Yemeni government. The conflict has created what the UN calls one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.